Wednesday September 20 2017
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Horotane Valley’s biggest National fan By Bridget Rutherford IF YOU’VE seen a friendly looking chap parked on the side of the road with a National Party sign waving to motorists – that’s Rae Mills. The 76-year-old has been sitting on the side of busy roads at peak travel times promoting National every election for the last decade. The Horotane Valley resident has been volunteering for the party for much longer. Mr Mills (left), who moved to Christchurch in 1984, wasn’t always a National supporter. He switched from Labour about 40 years ago when he was chairman of Southland’s Otatara Kindergarten committee. National had been in Government and told Mr Mills it had pledged money towards a loan for the kindergarten. But when Labour won the 1972 general election, Mr Mills was told the Government did not have the money in its budget. Mr Mills said he then marched into National’s Wallace MP Brian Talboys’ office to
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DEDICATED: Rae Mills, of Horotane Valley, spends a couple of hours in the morning and evening promoting National for the general election. PHOTO: MARTIN HUNTER
see if he could help. “He said I’ll sort that out for you,” Mr Mills said. “Eleven days later I got a reply from Education Minister Phil Amos, saying approval has been granted for your loan. “I was quite impressed, because I was Labour.” He has been volunteering for National ever since. Mr Mills has been parking on the side of Ferry Rd in Ferrymead, Halswell Rd and State
Highway 1 between Christchurch and Amberley waving to passersby since July. He does it on weekdays for a couple of hours in the mornings and evenings. “About 80 per cent of people wave,” he said. “I believe in what I’m doing, I know it’s working.” His role was to encourage people to party vote National, followed by its candidate for each electorate, he said.
“It really is about people ticking both boxes.” He said the outcome of the September 23 election would be tight – but he hoped National would come out on top. Mr Mills, who is a former builder and now works at Mitre 10 Mega Ferrymead, said he was happy to continue volunteering during election time if his wife Pat says it’s okay. “I’m still fit and well and able to do it.”
$100,000 plan for Allandale By Sarla Donovan A $100,000 regeneration project around the headwaters of the Allandale Stream is starting to show positive results. The Allandale Stream Reserve Project aims to regenerate native bush and riparian vegetation at the stream headwaters to provide good habitat for native fish, birds and invertebrates. Since 2011 more than 4.5km of livestock fencing has been installed to keep stock out of the stream and about 12,000 trees, shrubs and native grasses planted. Project manager Denis Aldridge is the general manager at Living Springs Camp and Conference Centre, which sits on 400 hectares of land and which includes Allandale Stream. “It’s a big project to plant that many plants,” he said. “We’ve had the limited service army volunteers, various youth groups, holiday camp groups, prison groups.” The Banks Peninsula Water Zone Committee have funded $115,141 towards the project. Values-wise, says Mr Aldridge, this is where he wants Living Springs to go.
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